Explore Chinese cuisine with excellent teaching cookbooks

Browsing the EYB Library, it is easy to become overwhelmed. If
you are looking for a cookbook to use as a springboard for learning
a particular cuisine, you probably have hundreds from which to
choose. Finding one that strikes the correct balance between
history, instruction, and authenticity can be a challenge. For
someone learning Chinese cuisines, a recent article cuts through
the confusion and provides details on seven books perfectly suited for learning Chinese
cooking.

The tomes are from trusted names like Carolyn Phillips, whose
All Under Heaven is touted as "an
excellent roadmap to the cooking of each of China's
regions." Fuchsia Dunlop likewise gets a shoutout for her
recent release, Land of Fish and Rice. This book
isn't as comprehensive as Phillips' work, but it dives deep into
the cuisine of one area, China's southern Jiangnan
region, which includes Shanghai.

Not all of the recommended books are recent publications.
The Breath of a Wok from Grace
Young and Alan Richardson, published over a decade ago, also
receives accolades. It is "the place to start if you like to
approach cooking as a poet might, understanding the soul of a
cuisine, or if you really want to geek out." Eileen Yin-Fei
Lo's 2006 work, My Grandmother's Chinese Kitchen, is
described as being a good choice for someone who is a 'nervous
beginner', because it is a sweet and personal book and not at all
intimidating. The article recommends three additional books as good
instruction manuals for learning about Chinese
cuisine.

4 Comments

Whilst there are some great books recommended in that article, I'd add Charmaine Solomon & Ken Hom to that list. The Complete Asian Cookbook is the first book I learned to cook from, and whilst not focused solely on Chinese cuisine it does take a rather large section of the book. Ken Hom's Chinese Cookery from 1984 was a great teaching cookbook, as is his more recent effort (2011) Complete Chinese Cookbook.

If I were starting into Chinese cooking today, I'd probably start with Every Grain of Rice. But an equally good introduction would be The Key to Chinese Cooking by Irene Kuo. Despite its age (published in 1977 and never revised), it remains a model of clarity and well-presented instruction. Because it was *the* Chinese cookbook for many years, there are still many out there in the used market and in libraries. This article is an over-written but worthwhile appreciation: https://food52.com/blog/19289-how-america-lost-the-key-to-chinese-cooking.

Regrettably, the Food52 article has pushed the price of The Key to Chinese Cooking to ludicrous levels. I got a perfectly good used one for $15. within the last two years; in time, the price should return to earth. Meanwhile, look in libraries.